Kentucky state legislators recently came together across party lines to pass a resolution in support of the Jones Act, America’s freight cabotage law.
Governor Andy Beshear signed the new resolution, which affirms the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s support for the Jones Act and emphasizes the importance of the law’s impact, both to the state and to the United States as a whole.
House Concurrent Resolution 5 passed by a vote of 93-0 in the state house in mid-February and by 35-1 in the state senate in mid-March. Sponsors of the new resolution underscored the improvements that a strengthened domestic maritime industry will make to both Kentucky’s economy and to national security.
The Jones Act has aided U.S. national, economic and homeland security for more than a century. The law requires that cargo moving between domestic ports is carried aboard vessels that are crewed, built, flagged and owned American.
Kentucky’s 1,600-mile network of navigable waterways includes access to both the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, making it a critical hub for the nation’s marine transportation system, the resolution states.
Additionally, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is home to 20,730 maritime jobs supported by the Jones Act, the fifth-highest per capita in the United States. According to the new resolution, these jobs generate $1.25 billion for workers and create accessible pathways to high-paying careers that do not require advanced formal education or the acquisition of exorbitant student loans.
The more than 40,000-vessel Jones Act fleet supports more than 650,000 family-wage jobs across the nation and generates more than $154 billion in economic output, as well as providing an estimated $5.1 billion to Kentucky’s own economy.
Moreover, the resolution points out that the United States’ ability to project and deploy forces globally, and supply and maintain military installations domestically also depends on the civilian fleet of the Jones Act vessels and mariners.
The passage of House Concurrent Resolution 5 comes on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrated the importance of maintaining strong, resilient domestic industries and transportation services.
The Jones Act, named after its sponsor Senator Wesley Jones of Washington State, was enacted by President Woodrow Wilson on June 5, 1920. The law, also known as Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, celebrated its centennial in 2020.
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